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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ValiantKnight, post: 2436759, member: 44210&quot;]A bit of background. My heritage/family history is from Colombia (I myself was born here in the USA). I kind of know the general history of Colombia, like how it was settled by the Spanish, when it declared independence, how it&#039;s had like 4 or 5 different names, the terrible civil violence in the late 1940s-50s, the rebel groups, etc. Numismatically I never really got into Colombian coinage, aside from bringing back coins and bills from there (I still have them but I can&#039;t see myself parting with them, even though I don&#039;t exactly &quot;collect&quot; them).</p><p><br /></p><p>Then one day recently I found myself reading about Colombia&#039;s colonial history, and wondered about the kinds of Spanish coins that circulated, that my ancestors would have used and been familiar with. Unfortunately for me, a few searches taught me that Spanish coins from Colombian mints such as Bogota and Popayan don&#039;t come cheap. So I turned towards the next best thing: coins from Lima, in Peru. I figure since Lima is the closest of the Spanish colonial mints to Colombia (not a really huge distance but not down the street either), its large output of coins, and since Spanish coins were accepted basically everywhere (even outside of the empire), that the coin I bought could have found its way north to be used by loyal colonists in today&#039;s Colombia. I also see a bit of a connection with US history with my coin, since it was Spanish coinage like this that helped fund the Revolutionary War and thus secure America&#039;s independence (Spain allied with the United States against Britain, its longtime rival, and America&#039;s struggle later helped inspire revolutionary leaders in Spanish South America to seek independence of their own).</p><p><br /></p><p>I am not able to trace my family as far as the colonial period of Colombia (furthest I&#039;ve gotten is the late 1800s with my great-great grandparents, specifically possibly 1870s if my assumptions about their ages are correct), but I can see myself and my heritage reflected in my newest acquisition.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/Mobile%20Uploads/carolus_zps0vv6972k.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>(click to enlarge)</p><p><br /></p><p>Some facts:</p><ul> <li>The coin depicts King Charles (Carlos) III of Spain, who was also King of Sicily and Naples. Charles ruled (as Spanish king) from 1759 to 1788. He implemented reforms throughout his empire, weakened Church influence, promoted research and science, and expanded trade. In 1734 he conquered Sicily and Naples, and was the Spanish king that lent support to the American colonists. Minorca and West Florida were reconquered by the Spanish from Britain during the Revolutionary War.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>It is a 2 reales coin, made of silver, struck at the Lima mint in 1780. It is 27 mm wide.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>The obverse reads: CAROLUS . IIII . DEI . GRATIA . 1780 - &quot;Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, 1780&quot;</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>... and the reverse reads: HISPAN[IARUM]. ET IND[IARUM]. REX. LIMAE [Monogram]. 2 R[EALES] M.I.[name of assayer] - &quot;King of the Spains and the Indies, Lima [mint]&quot;. The name Lima is written as a monogram.</li> <li>the reverse depicts the crowned Spanish arms between the Pillars of Hercules, the arms adorned with a ribbon with the motto <i>PLVS VLTRA</i> (&quot;further beyond&quot;).</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>Spanish America lasted from 1492 with Columbus&#039;s discovery of the Americas, to 1898 with Spain&#039;s cessation of Cuba and Puerto Rico to the United States due to the Spanish-American War.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>Colombia is named after Christopher Columbus, his name in Spanish being Cristobal Colon.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>The trigger for the Spanish American wars of independence was the French occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Cut off from central Spanish authority, the Spanish colonies established autonomous juntas that nominally recognized the crown, but later on sought full independence.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>Colombia declared its independence on July 20, 1810. Before, during the colonial era, the country was known as the Viceroyalty of New Granada, which also included Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Independence was finally won in 1819.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>The Spanish Empire included at one point or another, parts of Europe, Mexico, much of the United States, Central America, Spanish-speaking South America, some territories in Africa, several Pacific islands, and the Philippines. It has had a strong influence on the language, culture, religion, arts, politics, law, and infrastructure of many of the areas it controlled.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>The conquistadors led much of the charge in conquering the Americas for Spain.</li> </ul><p> <ul> <li>Simon Bolivar was the main leader of the independence movements in Colombia (which included Panama), Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. He is sometimes called the &quot;George Washington of South America&quot;. Bolivar served as Colombia&#039;s first president (when the country was part of &quot;Gran Colombia&quot; [Great Colombia]).</li> </ul><p>King Charles III:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/charlesiii_zpshtnibhcc.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Spanish Empire in the Americas:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/spanishamerica_zps0yp32kd0.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Spain&#039;s Cross of Burgundy flag:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/spanishflag_zpsx2sqjjmp.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Map of the viceroyalties of New Granada and Peru, respectively:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/newgranada_zpsyntqsrjc.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/peru_zpsorkbbcsj.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Spanish soldiers of the 18th century (the second one depicts the Spanish attack on British-held Pensacola, Florida, in 1781):</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/guhgvy_zpsvewhefnn.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/Spanish_troops_at_Pensacola_zpsqbubua1q.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Small town Colombia, looking very much as it would have in the colonial era (not my photo):</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/191_zpsdq4lzbmh.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Life in the colonial era:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/Mexico_-_Garden_Party_on_the_Terrace_of_a_Country_Home_zpsreogbfqi.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/LurkingNinja/fvuyuylgvb_zpsnvartbp7.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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